


the l.o.o.n.a. task force

by monovan



Category: LOONA (Korea Band), Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Assassins & Hitmen, Contract killing, Gen, Help, I'll add tags as I write, I'm Bad At Tagging, Killing, Murder, Organized Crime, Secret Organizations, Song Lyrics, idk how to tag, this is my first fic please be nice SHBSJDBSJBSJS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:41:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25866115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monovan/pseuds/monovan
Summary: the loona girls in an au in which heejin is tasked with forming a united states division of koreas largest female contract hitman organization, The Circle, with the help of hyunjin.
Kudos: 11
Collections: Loona 🌙, Loonatheworld





	1. ViViD

**Author's Note:**

> i have no idea what im doing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> heejin arrives in the united states, with one mission in mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no idea what im doing hopefully you enjoy and i figure out what im doing

heejin was nervous. this was her first time in the united states after all. she stood there in line for customs as she looked through her passport again. this time around she was isabella ashe, a 20-year-old business major from new york here in california to celebrate her best friends birthday.

"next!" a worker said behind a desk.

heejin stepped forward and handed her passport to the woman at the counter. this part always got her nervous even though she knew the Circle always makes sure their fake passports are up to standard.

"so what are you doing here in california?" the worker said as she flipped through heejin's passport and scanned her photo.

"oh im just here to celebrate my friends 20th birthday" heejin chuckled.

the woman finished up and closed heejin's passport and slid it across the counter.

"have a nice stay in california!"

"y-yeah" heejin managed to get out as she took the passport off the counter and headed towards the pickup point.

heejin stepped outside and saw the black car waiting for her. wordlessly, she opened the back door, threw her luggage in, and climbed into the passenger seat. she stared straight ahead as the man beside her started to drive and began to speak.

"i know irene told you your task before you left, but i must remind you on the off chance you forgot from the 12-hour flight."

"irene? you mean joohyun?" heejin said, still facing straight ahead.

" she goes by irene now. but that's beside the point. your task is to eliminate tony milton, ceo of a multimillion-dollar company that produces war weapons."

"so what'd he do to deserve an elimination?" heejin said looking at the driver.

"im getting there. he pays his employees that produce the weapons less than minimum wage for ungodly hours of work, sells the weapons at an extremely inflated price, and hes a messed up man. because his employees are so underpaid and getting angry, he's turning them into an army against the public. he's going to hold a sick game where he gives them weapons, sets them out onto the streets of sacramento and san francisco, and the top ten who kill the most people get huge pay raises."

"and you want me to stop that. right?"

"yes. he will be attending a party in los angles tomorrow night where you need to take him down by any means necessary. you have a day to prepare and recover from the jetlag."

"so... can i play as dirty as i want?"

"no, you can't just kill him and escape. that would send every other guest into a panic and send a hunt for you. you need to do it where people can't see you take him out."

"fine" heejin huffed.

as heejin was busy muttering to herself about how much easier it would be if she could just get there, skip all the sneaking and manipulating, and just kill him as she walked in and left, the car pulled up to the hotel.

"your room is on floor 12, room 365. see you here in 48 hours."

"see you in two days," heejin said as she got out and pulled her luggage out of the backseat.

she waved goodbye to the driver as the car pulled off and she headed towards the hotel doors.

"i gotta give it to The Circle, they know how to accommodate their agents on missions," she thought as she walked through the 13 foot double doors and stepped into a large black and white room filled with gold and red accents.

she walked up to the front desk to check into her room, so she could finally unpack and take a nap after 13 hours.

"yes, hi! my name is isabella ashe, and i believe i have a room booked here for 2 nights and 1 day?" she said as she faintly smiled at the receptionist.

"ah, yes. we have it right here, floor 12, room 365. here is your room key, and enjoy your stay!" he said as he slid two room keys across the counter.

heejin grabbed the keys and walked over to the elevator to head to her room. the doors opened and in walked heejin with a family of four, their youngest seeming to be around four yours old. she pushed the button for the 12th floor as the mother asked her to push floor 7.

the elevator opened on floor 7 and the family walked out but a blonde woman with sunglasses walked in. she said nothing as she leaned against the wall. heejin couldn't see her eyes, but she could tell the woman was staring at her.

the elevator opened at floor 12 and heejin stepped out. she realized that the woman never pushed a button or asked her to push one, so she thought she was also getting out on floor 12, but there she was, leaving alone. she turned around to see the woman following her with her eyes as the doors closed.

"hm. weird" heejin said to herself.

heejin just passed it off as her waiting to press the button herself because she was nervous or something. she didn't care to explain it to herself and further.

heejin arrived at her room and pressed her key card to the reader and opened the door. she turned on the lights and walked into the room to find a large king-size bed, a desk with a notepad and a coffee machine, a bathroom, and a view of the city.

she tossed her suitcase on the bed and left the unpacking to future her. it was still mid-day so she had to find something to do until nighttime. but for now, she pulled out her phone and switched between 4 apps for an hour to pass the time before finally deciding to get up and leave the hotel room.

47 hours left until pickup.

_I rummage through the black hat, but I always get the same thing: either a white rabbit or a dove._ _That’s all same_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed and didnt think this was too much of a mess


	2. ViViD Acoustic Mix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> heejin finally eliminates tony

heejin watched the cars go by as she drank her coffee. she still had a whole day ahead of her until the party. she thought about what she could do when she ran out of coffee. she thanked the barista and left the cafe, thinking about taking a walk through town.

she walked a few blocks down the road until she found a bookstore. she went inside, figuring she could pass the time by finding a good book to read. she scanned the shelves for any books that looked interesting.

catcher in the rye, to kill a mockingbird, lord of the flies, 1984, little women, the great gatsby, animal farm, none of these seemed to interest her. she walked through the book store for around 15 more minutes before settling on a book called "the name of the wind". she went to the counter to check out and that's when she saw the worker standing there. she saw her. a blonde woman. she felt like she had seen her somewhere before, but she couldn't put her finger on it. she waved off her suspicion and slid the book across the counter to her as she pulled out her wallet.

"just this?" the woman said as she started to ring up the book.

"yeah, just that" heejin replied.

"that'll be $10.64. want a bag?" she said, opening the register.

"no, i'll be fine," she said as she handed her $20 from her wallet. she thought for a second before saying, "keep the rest for yourself" as she grabbed the book and walked out of the store.

"thank you! have a good day!" the woman called out to heejin as she left.

heejin decided to head back to the hotel and wait there until nighttime came around. she waited in her room switching between reading her book and checking social media. the sun started to set as she closed her book, once and for all. it was a decent read, good enough to pass the time. it was time for her to get ready.

before she dressed up, she had to decide how she was going to kill him. she could get him alone and stab him, she could poison his drink, she could push him off of a balcony, she could choke him, or she could conveniently "forget" what the driver told her and gun him down as she walked in.

she wrote all the options on the hotel notepad and started crossing ones off. stabbing was a no go, she couldn't get the blood off of her at the party. she should leave just like all the other guests. poison is too unreliable, who's to say he just sets his drink down and doesn't drink it? the balcony wouldn't work, the venue is only 2 stories high. hr would only get major injuries at most. if she just shot him, joohyu- irene would never let her hear the end of it. so that left one option: choking him out. that way she only needed her hands and maybe a very sturdy necklace, if he tries to get away.

she put on her dress, a shin-high muted pink that left enough room to move around in, put in some hoops, and grabbed the necklace because why not? she also grabbed a bobby pin, just in case she needed to pick any locks. she put on a pair of black wedges and started to leave the room. before she opened the door she realized she forgot something, her room key. she had no pockets, so she just hid it in her shoe. she got up to leave when her eyes caught the notepad. she ripped off the sheet she wrote on, along with the 2 sheets underneath, and left for the party.

she called an uber black and set off for the venue. as the car pulled up, she saw that everything was how it was told to her, 2 guards blocked the entrance and gold light dripped into the dark outside. she thanked the driver, hopped out of the car, and walked towards the entrance.

"what's your name?" one of the guards said as heejin approached them.

"isabella ashe" she replied, seeming as confident as ever.

"never heard of you. get lost." the other guard said, not even glancing at heejin.

"can you just check?" heejin said, with worry faintly creeping into her voice.

the first guard took a clipboard from a small table beside them and flipped through the pages.

"here you are, enjoy your might miss ashe" he said as both guards moved aside for her to walk through.

she walked into the venue, admiring all of the decorations and beautiful chandeliers. but that stopped when she remembered why she was here. she had no time to admire and internally praise the decorator, she had to find tony milton. she wandered through the main room trying to find him, when a man, clearly drunk stopped her. she hoped for the best but prepared for the worst.

"eeexcuuse me miiissss" the man said, his words slurring together "ddooo yooouu knnoww wwhhheere the baatthhrrooom issss?"

heejin sighed, glad she didn't have to kick him in the shin, as she was planning to do.

"its upstairs. its the only thing upstairs. you should be able to find it."

the man thanked her and walked, or in better words, stumbled his way towards the staircase leading upstairs. heejin walked around more trying to find tony, with her searches coming up fruitless just until she heard from her left,

"thats a great story tony! got any more?"

of course, there could be 10 different tonys at this party but she decided to bite the bullet. she was about to go up to him and try to make small talk with him when she heard him excuse himself to go to the bathroom.

he turned around almost knocking into heejin, but stopping before they ran into each other. heejin gave a slight smile and a light apology. that was him. that was tony milton. and hes heading towards the bathroom, one of the only places where he's alone. it's now or never.

heejin started heading towards the staircase to get to the bathrooms. once she was at the top of the stairs, she made a left instead of a right, and headed for the men's bathrooms, silently praying that the drunkard from before had left. when she entered she noticed that nobody was there. thank god.

to her right was 7 hooks for keys, presumably. 6 keys were there, with one missing. 7 stalls were there, with 6 doors opened slightly. she walked towards the stall that was closed, ready to pull her bobby pin out to puck the lock when the stall door opened. she panicked and hid in the stall next door to wait. she heard the sink go on and that's when she knew she had to do something.

she peeked out of the stall and saw him looking down at the sink. she unclasped her necklace and snuck up behind him. she threw her arms over his head and pulled as hard as she could, pulling him away from the sink. tony tried his best to speak and managed to push out some words.

"w-who are you?" he said breathlessly. of course, there were tons of other questions running through his head like why was she here? how is she here? did someone send her? is so, who? why him? why is she in the men's bathroom? does she know his plans? but he was soon shut up by her pulling harder.

"honestly, that's neither of our business, _tony_."

she pulled him to a near wall where she slammed him against it, kicking his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. once he was starting to stand up, she grabbed him by the neck and choke slammed him against the wall, pushing down as hard as she could, itachi style.

tonys vision started to go blurry as he saw her smile and say,

"you thought you could get away with it?"

he was too weak to fight back. all his energy was focused on trying to breathe, which was getting harder as heejin strengthened her grip around his neck. heejin felt his body go limp and she let go. his body sunk to the ground, and she needed to make sure he was dead. she kicked his body as hard as she could. that one was just for fun.

she got behind his body and placed her hand on his head. her left hand on his chin and her right on the top of his head. she took a deep breath and put all of her force into it.

**_-CRUNCH-_ **

a resounding snap let out through the room. he was finally dead. she held up his arm and watched it fall. yep. he's dead. also, rigor mortis had set in surprisingly fast, and his body was extremely tense and his hands were gripping as hard as they could.

she reached into his pocket and found the key for his stall. she dragged is body into the stall he was using and propped up his body to make it sitting on the seat. she closed the door, locked it, booked tony on the nose for fun (what was he gonna do, come to life and fight her?), and then using the seat as a stepping stool, climbed over the divider into the next stall over. she flushed the key and left as if nothing had happened. hiding the body like that was going to but her some time.

she called an uber, and started calmly making her way outside the venue. she hopped in the car and left for the hotel. once she got back to her room she started packing, she left tomorrow morning. she put all of her clothes into her suitcase, took a shower and washed her face, and went to bed.

she woke up, threw on a beige sweater and jeans, and headed to check herself out of the hotel. as she was checking out, a small tv behind the reception desk showed a news report. they found tonys body this morning and confirmed that he was dead.

she walked outside to the car that was waiting for her, there her luggage in the backseat and hopped in the passenger.

"good job," the driver said as he started driving.

"thanks, just another assignment."

it was going to be a long flight back to korea.

_Even if I seem cold, so I can look different. I’ll show myself to you, that’s my heart_


	3. Around You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hyunjin has time to reflect after a successful task

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so im back :) next chapter should be up soon

hyunjin had time to think. she had quite a bit of time to think, actually, 10 hours. she had 10 hours until The Circle sent someone for pickup. she completed her task earlier than expected and was at a loss for how to spend her time.

hyunjin slowly walked out of the alley she was standing in, away from the dumpster that was currently filled with a millionaire's corpse. hopefully, he has nothing against her, she didn't feel like being haunted anytime soon.

she stared down at her hands, covered in blood after killing him. she needed a way to hide it. she could use rubbing alcohol once she was back at her apartment. she had already done the previous steps in this, finding the guy at a karaoke bar, breaking into his room, stabbing him around 48 times if she had to give an estimate, dumping his body into the alley from the window, singing maybe 3 songs, jumping out the window, hauling his body into the dumpster, and throwing in the knife too. she just needed to wash her hands.

for now, she just stuffed her hands in her jacket pockets and walked down the street she was on, trying to find a place open this late that would let her use the bathrooms for free. she passed by many chain restaurants, but she couldn't go in. they all had pull doors. nobody could see her hands.

she eventually stumbled upon a local coffee shop that rents its space out at nights. it was currently gig night, where local people and groups could perform for a small crowd. and it had a push door! shd walked up to the door and pushed it with her body. a few people turned to look at her, which she returned with a small smile.

she made her way around people, arriving at the person behind the counter. she asked if she could use the bathrooms they had. the worker let out a half-hearted "sure" and pointed in the direction of the bathrooms.

she walked over and saw the doors, also push. nice. she pushed the door with her body. thankfully it was a single bathroom, with the usual bathroom stuff, nothing too fancy. she headed towards the sink and washed and dried her hands 7 times before looking up at the mirror. there was a little bit of blood by her lip, which was close enough where you could mistake it for her lipstick being smudged.

she wiped it off and headed out of the bathroom. when she thought about it, she really didn't need a pickup from The Circle. her apartment was within walking distance. of course, it would be a very long walk, but she could do it. how else was she going to burn 10 hours?

she left the coffee shop after thanking the clearly underpaid worker and started heading for her apartment.

a long 4-hour walk later, she was standing in front of her apartment complex. she walked up the steps, entered the code, walked up to her apartment, unlocked it, and her apartment was a mess. almost everything was on the floor, with only one glass broken. new record!

and there, in front of it was a yellow tabby cat. _her_ yellow tabby cat. like the agent of chaos he was. she knelt and hoisted that cat onto her shoulder.

"let's get this mess cleaned up, with no help from you," she said booping her cat's nose, "and then i can call The Circle and tell them what happened."

_I’m just blankly staring at you then I leave. From far away, I wish you would only look at me._


	4. i'll be there

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the plans are finalized and put into action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry im so late ive had severe writers block and i started to actually plan out the rest of the story and the girls, and what role they play in the story, so hopefully from now on, everything seems to make a bit more sense with less plotholes.

"well, that'll conclude today's meeting," irene said, standing up from the chair seated at the head of the conference room table.

"are you positive we should go through with this project? we don't have to send them to the united states, we could just keep them here and send them when needed," an executive seated 3 seats down from her said.

"if it were 6 months ago, that would be a viable option. but currently, we're receiving an influx of assignments from the united states. currently, it makes more sense to send them there. we can send them as a small test to see if they can handle it," irene said, slowly sitting back down.

"well the way you say it, it sounds like you're planning on sending more agents there if it goes well. we can't afford that, we already have agents spread out throughout the world, with not many exactly able to pick up and leave. we have at least 20 agents in deep cover, with only 10 able to be moved, which we need to save in case anything happens." the executive said, trying to get irene to change her mind.

"i see what you mean. we'd be spread too thin. well, how about this, we send them to the united states for 2 weeks, to see if anything goes wrong. then we can send in one more agent to assist them. then they can work on building the united states division by recruiting more members as they are there. that way we dont get spread thin, and we can still have a united stated division. does that plan sound good?" irene asked, looking around the conference room.

her assistant standing beside her stepped forward. "if i may ask, miss irene, which agent were you thinking of sending with them after two weeks?"

"i was thinking about the White Bird. that seem okay?" irene said, standing up once again.

"yes ma'am, i will go inform her of the plan right now." he stepped outside of the conference room to debrief her.

"one more thing, agent joy? i would like you to be the one to debrief the two," irene said before leaving.

"yes ma'am." joy said before standing up and leaving behind her.

today was a lazy day for hyunjin. she was told that she wasn't going to be sent on any missions today, and she had today off. of course, she didnt plan anything big, the last time The Circle gave her a day off, she ended up needing to take down a mafia boss in europe, but was more of a hassle than anything. today she just planned simply. maybe she was going to take a train to hongdae or do some local shopping, or she could stay home and play with her cat.

she decided she could do a mix of two, play with her cat, and do some local shopping, she did need a jacket, after all, the last one she got had been stained by blood, and she didn't feel like getting it out. but first, her cat. she turned to look at him and saw him pushing a plant dangerously close to the edge of her counter.

she ran to catch it and caught it just as he pushed it off the counter edge. only a little dirt spilled out and would be fairly easy to clean. taeyang was a little bastard sometimes, but he made up for it when he sometimes silently walked over to her and lay across her lap, purring, or when he would trot up to her wanting pats, or when he would sit on her as she slept, causing her to have a bad dream of not being able to breathe. that last one wasnt so good but at least he was there for her when she woke up.

hyunjin silently scolded taeyang as she swept up the dirt he spilled. when she put the broom back she found him making himself comfortable in her empty sink. she took a quick picture before taking him out of the sink and moving him to the couch, so she could play with him and as she set him down on her couch, she heard the doorbell ring.

she walked down to the main entrance of her apartment building and saw a woman she had never seen before, waiting at the door. she opened the door slightly to peek her head out of the opening.

"hello? who are you?" she asked the woman standing there.

"hello hyunjin, my name is joy, and i need to borrow you," she said looking hyunjin in the eyes.

"how do you know my name? who are you?"

"that part's not important. you need to come with me. now"

"im not leaving until you tell me who sent you"

" im from The Circle and i need you to come with me." joy replied, getting frustrated with how long this was taking.

hyunjin's entire demeanor shifted from suspicious to relaxed. "why didnt you just say that this could've been so much easier. let me just grab a jacket and i'll be right out."

after hyunjin got a jacket from her closet and kissed taeyang goodbye, she met with joy outside the building once again. "theres a car waiting for us around the corner," joy said, walking down the steps.

hyunjin followed her down the steps and around the corner to find a plain black car waiting for them. "so, where are we off to?" hyunjin said.

heejins day was not as calm, sadly. she had been suddenly been swamped with paperwork because someone forgot to tell her that the format for the assignment reports had been changed, and a whole new section had been added. she had to redo her past few mission reports and get them in as soon as possible. needless to say, she was sitting at her desk typing away doing her best to walk the line between getting her work done as fast as possible, and making sure it was good enough so she didnt have to do it again. years of the school system had prepared her for this. then there was a knock at her door. she got out of her office, and walked to the door of her apartment, as the person outside knocked again.

she looked through the peephole, seeing a lady she had never seen before, but didnt look dangerous. she opened the door and greeted the lady.

"hi, my name is-" she got cut off before she could finish.

"heejin, i need you to come with me," the woman said, voice staying as calm as ever.

heejin immediately started to close the door very quickly, why did she know her name? she didnt need this right now, she had to get back to doing paperwork.

"so sorry, wrong person. i have to get back to work now goodbye!" she said trying to shut the door.

the woman's foot stopped her though. heejin tried to close the door again, thinking it was some sort of mistake.

"heejin, im agent joy, and im from The Circle, and you need to come with me."

"oh no, this isn't about the assignment reports, right? because if you need to, i was about to get back to writing them again, i can get it done as soon as possible."

"i dont care about your reports, you have a mission. meet me outside in the car, i'll be right by it."

"oh, ok, let me just change first," heejin said as she closed the door and changed into something more fitting for a mission; a generic large red jacket, a white t-shirt, and some jeans.

she locked up her apartment and headed outside, seeing the woman leaning against the passenger door. she nodded at her as she walked towards the car.

"get in the back, we're heading to the office."

she hopped in the back with hyunjin, saying a quick greeting to her as she got in. heejin and hyunjin actually knew each other before they even were recruited for The Circle. they went to the same high school for a few years, before hyunjin suddenly dropped out, cut all ties with everyone she knew, even her family, and joined The Circle. at least the air of silence, was comfortable, as they drove towards the office.

when they all arrived at the office, joy led them outside of the car, and into the office as she told them what was about to happen, and who they were about to meet.

"you two are about to get debriefed on one of the biggest missions you have taken in. i haven't even done anything this important, im kind of jealous. but you two and one other agent will soon meet with director irene for the debriefing."

heejin and hyunjin were both thinking the same question, but only hyunjin spoke up to ask it. "whos the agent we're gonna be working with?"

"you might have heard of her. she goes by The White Bird. but, she will only join you later in your mission."

"oh! ive heard of her, she was the one who took down a crime ring without ever revealing her face right? and isnt she like, a trained doctor or medical professional or something? the whole combo." heejin said, thinking out loud.

"yes she is one of The Circle's most valuable agents. we're here," joy said, as she lead them into a large expanse room with 4 chairs in the center. "take a seat. The White Bird and director irene will be here shortly."

heejin and hyunjin took seats next to each other and waited. after around 5 minutes a woman walked in, wearing a brown coat and jeans, with a mask, sunglasses, and bucket hat. her hat hid all of her hair, not allowing anything to be seen of her face. she sat down next to heejin, making heejin just a little bit more on edge.

"welcome, White Bird," joy said, looking at the woman.

she returned the greeting with a nod of her head. 5 more minutes passed in silence until director irene arrived. and they greeted her, except for the White Bird, who gave her a nod too.

"so sorry im late everyone, lets get started shall we?"

this time, everyone did what the White Bird's been doing to everyone, and gave her a small nod.

"ok so, heejin and hyunjin. you will be sent on an important mission to the unites states. you will be sent to california, and you will stay in an 11 bedroom home. you will be stationed there for as long as we see fit. you two," she said as she gestured to heejin and hyunjin, "will be starting an american division of The Circle. the White Bird will join you after 2 weeks if you show that you can complete the missions sent in."

"excuse me, director," hyunjin said, "but we do all of those things already, being stationed in korea. why would it be beneficial to send us to the united states?"

"well, to be honest, a lot more missions are being sent in the require longer than just a few days to complete, and we just dont have enough resources to send agents to the states for that long. so you two, along with the White Bird, after two weeks, and going to be tasked with recruiting agents for your division. sound good everyone?"

they all nodded in agreement as irene and joy left, leaving the three of them alone.

"see you after 2 weeks." the White Bird said to them, swiftly walking out afterward.

now all heejin and hyunjin had left to do was pack.

_In the time, in front of us, real slow. Our work has stopped. This dream-like time has come around, in front of me_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so like kind of a spoiler but if you know loona it isn't the white bird is actually haseul, the third girl i know surprising. but originally, her character was supposed to be a baker, who was forced to poison the food she sells, by a crime ring, or else they were gonna kill her dog or mom to something or they had an embarrassing secret of hers idk i didn't flesh it out and heejin and hyunjin were gonna see the case on the news and check it out, and talk to haseul and be like "we know you didn't do it you had to be framed or something we'll help you" and then she was gonna like confess to only them and be like "actually i did poison all of the food i had to but im going to go prison for a long time i don't know what to do" and then they recruit her to get her out of having to go to prison and sneak her out of the scene somehow and then she would join them. but i actually ended up liking the concept of haseul being a very vital agent that is going to be sent to help 2jin so im going with that hope you enjoyed reading hopefully the next chapter takes less time to write :)


	5. let me in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> haseul grows restless about california

haseul was bored. she was growing tired of waiting another week to be sent to america. she may be one of The Circle's most valuable agents, but even she had a limit. and she had to admit, she was a little jealous, which was a rare time. the last time she was jealous was 5 years ago when she got just the slightest bit jealous when she let her teammate kill their target instead of her, and even then, it was just for a few seconds.

how was she supposed to feel, when two of her juniors, who have been at The Circle for a fraction of the time that she has, get to go on a once in a lifetime mission, and she has to sit around waiting for two whole weeks? dont mistake, she was keeping busy and trying to take her mind off of it by taking on extra missions, but it never really filled the hole in her heart where that mission would be the only thing to fill it. no matter who she was taking care of, the mission would be the only thing on her mind. hell, she even had to bring a voice recorder for the first time on an info-gathering assignment. she was always able to remember everything, but now her mind was foggy with wanting to be in california.

nobody at the office was talking about anything else. someone had walked by when her, heejin, and hyunjin were getting debriefed and made some surprisingly right assumptions. they had seen that she was there, and assumed it was something important. haseul never took on any small missions, until now. and suddenly, when nobody had seen heejin or hyunjin, and they hadn't sent in any reports, rumors started to spread.

"why would they need to go together?"

"why have they been gone together for so long?"

"have they really not sent in any paperwork from when they were gone? they usually update frequently."

"wait wasn't the White Bird in the room too?"

"why isnt she there too?"

"did the director decide that she wasnt capable enough?"

"was she too above that assignment?"

"was she taken off the assignment?"

she could hear their whispers as she walked by. loud and clear. she could feel the people staring at her as she went to the printer. she could sense people pointing at her and whispering. and she just wanted it to stop.

as she walked by a group of her coworkers who were very badly trying to hide that they were talking about her she said, just loud enough for them to hear, "stop talking about me before you're not able to talk at all. this isnt a threat, but a promise." they all stopped talking at the same time before she walked off and waved to one of her few friends in the office.

wendy. wendy was one of her juniors, but they had gotten closer than anyone could have imagined. when wendy first joined The Circle, haseul was assigned to mentor and teach her. over the time they spent together, they became extremely good friends. not to say that training her was any easier because of it. haseul was hard on her. irene tended to sometimes recruit people based on how interesting she finds them, not on how much skill they already have. of course, she does pick some people with already built up-skill, but she believes that anything can be taught with enough time, and why not pick someone interesting to teach?

of course, wendy was no exception to this tendency of irenes. wendy had lived a very comfortable life before she came to The Circle. she had lived in a 2 story home, a rare sight for haseul, she had both her parents, a sister, and could reasonably get what she wanted, and never had to worry about finances. her home life seemed calm and almost perfect. then one day, she left. she applied to The Circle, packed her bags, left her family, and started working. no one knows exactly why she left, not even irene, which made wendy all the more interesting to her. of course, people have some theories about her, but she's told nobody.

haseul had no intention to pry. if she wanted to tell her, she will, and haseul had no plans to force it out of her, unlike some of her coworkers, who were insensitive and nosy. because of this, wendy felt no pressure around haseul. she didnt feel like she had to be careful with her words, just in case she might take it as a hint to her past. she was able to truly be herself. she didnt have to worry whether haseul was going to read too far into every little thing she did and draw conclusions. everything that wendy did and said always stayed between her and haseul. haseul never felt the urge to share with her coworkers what wendy had said, she just wasn't that type of person.

now she had to find a way to tell her that she was going to leave.

_ Deep in my heart, in that dark place, you suddenly entered, awakening my world that would have fallen asleep someday. It can’t be coincidence. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol i havent posted in months but ive had this saved up for like a month ive been so busy with school and my personal life i hope you don't mind and i hope you liked this chapter, i'll write more as soon as i can :)


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